Megan Rapinoe sidelined with knee injury

Seattle Reign FC and USWNT player Megan Rapinoe will be out several weeks after straining a ligament in her right knee at U.S. Women’s National Team training camp. The injury will require her to miss two friendlies against France and England on Feb. 8 and Feb. 13.

Megan Rapinoe sidelined several weeks after straining right knee ligament at #uswnt training, will miss France & England friendlies

— Steven Goff (@SoccerInsider) January 19, 2015

This is not Rapinoe's first knee injury. While playing at the University of Portland, Rapinoe suffered two season-ending ACL injuries, causing her to miss time with the Pilots and the National Team. A foot injury last year kept Rapinoe out of the majority of games for the Seattle Reign. She played just nine regular season matches in 2014, scoring four times and earning one assist.

The injury — while minor — comes at a crucial time, as the USWNT is just five months away from the Women's World Cup in Canada, where they face Sweden, Australia, and Nigeria in the Group Stage.

She's still expected to be fit in time for the Reign season, which kicks off in April.

Head coach Jill Ellis has been tinkering with the lineup since taking over the team nine months ago, testing a number of players — including Rapinoe — in the No. 10 role. These lineup changes led the team to look highly inconsistent on its way to a second-place finish in the four-game International Tournament of Brasilia in December.

Rapinoe has earned 96 caps for the U.S. National Team. During the 2012 London Olympics, she scored three goals and tallied a team-high four assists to lead the United States to a gold medal. She is the first player to score a Goal Olimpico at the Olympic Games.